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And Boom Goes the Dynamite: Flames at Canucks, January 23rd, 3-2 Canucks (shootout)http://blogs.theprovince.com/2013/01/24/and-boom-goes-the-dynamite-flames-at-canucks-january-23rd-3-2-canucks-shootout/
http://blogs.theprovince.com/2013/01/24/and-boom-goes-the-dynamite-flames-at-canucks-january-23rd-3-2-canucks-shootout/#commentsThu, 24 Jan 2013 10:46:57 +0000http://blogs.theprovince.com/?p=105103WE DID IT! WE DID IT! Vancouver got the two whole points! Of course there was the usual 2013 Canucks 2-0 blown lead (2 out 3 games, that’s a trend guys, that’s straight up math right there), but the Canucks …]]>WE DID IT! WE DID IT! Vancouver got the two whole points! Of course there was the usual 2013 Canucks 2-0 blown lead (2 out 3 games, that’s a trend guys, that’s straight up math right there), but the Canucks managed to rally off of the back of….Zack “Cody Who?” Kassian? That’s right, Big Daddy Kass, The Kassassin, Kasstrator 1000 (still working on that one) had himself a huge game, and amazingly enough may have made himself even more popular in Vancouver than he was after knocking Ben Eager silly. Before we get to all the good stuff, though, let’s head over to Dr. Recchi for his thoughts on the game. Dr. Recchi?

Dr. Recchi’s Breakdown

– Dale Weise on the 2nd line? That worked out really well, didn’t it?

– Roberto Luongo didn’t stop a single puck all night, what a joke.

– Why do the Canucks even bother scoring two goals if they plan on blowing the lead away? People are starving in the world and you’re going to go and waste goals like that? Do you know how much Darcy Hordichuk would KILL for a goal? Selfish jerks.

– I think the Canucks should use Daniel Sedin in every shootout. That slow down and awkwardly run the puck into the goalies pad move works most of the time, I swear.

– The Flames didn’t get enough 5-3’s. I counted at least 78 other times the Canucks could have been penalized, due to them being dirty cheating scumbags.

Wyatt’s Game Breakdown

Well, the main storyline of tonight’s game to take away, was the play of Zack Kassian. He played like the player Canucks fans were told they were getting when Cody Hodgson was traded away at last years deadline. Fresh off of a Kassassination of Ben Eager the game before, Zack played well enough to earn him a spot on the Sedin’s line. Why the Canucks always seem to feel the need to find a better fit for that line than Burrows, I might never know, but in tonight’s case, the versatile Burrows was playing centre on the thirsecoforth line (2nd? 3rd? 4th? I don’t know), which meant Big Kass got the call. Kassian didn’t disappoint, as he was the Canucks most dangerous player all game long, winning puck battles, taking the puck strong to the net, and making smart passes with the Sedins to keep their cycle plays going. The worry of course is that Kassian is an inconsistent lad, so we might not see this kind of game all the time, but at least for one night, Canucks fans got to see what happens when he puts the entire package together. One can only hope he manages to play as consistent as Alex Edl…..ok, bad example, but the point is, if Kassian can continue playing this well, he might earn himself a juicy contract with loaded numbers from playing with the Sedins. Let’s just hope he doesn’t go to Anson Carter for any contract advice.

On to the game!

The Good (Pickles)

– Zack Kassian. I know I just went over it, but it bears repeating, he had himself a great game. The worst thing you can ever do to a budding power forward is whisper the name “Steve Bernier…”, but Kassian showed why he is anything but a Bernier in the making. Kassian is aware of where the puck is, he has underrated passing skills, and most importantly, he doesn’t drive people into the boards and take a five minute major in game six of the finals.

– Zack Kassian’s shootout goal. This was the same goal he used to undress Roberto Luongo in a scrimmage this year, and he undressed Kiprusoff with the same move. Zack Kassian loves undressing goalies. OK wait, that came out wrong…Regardless, if you ever want to see a move that will make you fist pump and do a running chest bump with your buddy, this goal will do it.

The best part of that move? Kassian slides the puck back towards Kipper. “Hey man, you want this, here you go, OH SORRY, it went into the net.” Nice.

– Sedins were the best players early on before Kassian took over. And by best I mean they controlled the puck really well. They didn’t create a ton of chances, and they kind of disappeared down the stretch, but they showed signs of the dominating cycle game they are famous for AND Daniel almost threw a hit tonight. He might have slipped and fallen into someone, but I’m counting that as a hit.

– Cory Schneider’s legs looked amazing tonight. OK, I really need to work on my phrasing… Cory Schneider had a strong game, and on three different occasions he did the splits and used his legs to keep the puck from being forced in the nets. I might find this more amazing than most because when I try and do the splits I tear things and start crying, but it was nice to see Cory bounce back and put out a great performance.

– Mason “Ice Man” Raymond once again showed why his agent argued that Raymond should be paid based purely on his performances against Calgary. Mason Raymond has, for reasons unbeknownst to me, chosen the Calgary Flames as the one team he decides to be Pavel Bure against. Well, Pavel Bure minus the moves. And the illegal elbows. And the passing. OK, Raymond plays really well against Calgary is all I am saying. The craziest part about Raymond’s game tonight? He went into the SLOT. And then he SCORED. Raymond, slot, scored. I think we need to tattoo that on his face so he sees it in the mirror every night. Granted, it was on the powerplay, so the slot was open, BUT I DON’T CARE. Even on the powerplay Raymond tries to avoid the slot because he’s pretty sure the outer faceoff circle is trying to catch him with his head down….

– Ballard and Tanev played really well tonight. They both had “Oh crap, they are so screwed now” moments, but they handled them calmly, and made the right play 95% of the time. There is hope yet!

– A quick shout out to Jordan Schroeder who had a solid, if not unspectacular performance. He didn’t do a ton to get noticed out there, but that is a great game for a rookie playing his first game. He made some good passes, and won a battle down low against Bouwmeester to help set up Dale Weise right in the slot, but since Dale Weise hates Schroeder, he decided to shoot high.

The Bad (Mushrooms)

– Dale Weise, who looked strong last game, got a chance to play with Raymond and recently called up Jordan Schroeder, and didn’t have an impact game like I was hoping he’d have. I only wish he did better because I really thought he would continue on with his trend of having good games recently, but he wasn’t that noticeable tonight.

– Bieksa and Garrison continue to not do a whole lot offensively during the start of this season. Garrison apparently has an issue with the back boards, as he refuses to hit the net with his shot, and “Casual Kevin” was seen a couple of times tonight, which is never a good thing for plus/minus enthusiasts. What was nice was seeing “Angry Bieksa” show up, you remember him, the guy who beat up Marleau? He decided to dish out a big hit on Glencross in the first period.

– Seriously, that Daniel shootout attempt was horrendous. It almost made it to the Ugly column, but I had to reserve enough space in there for Edler. *SPOILER ALERT*

– Blowing another 2-0 lead. I understand the Canucks are super committed to being the worst 2nd period team in all of hockey, but come on, enough with the blowing of the two goal lead.

The Ugly (Olives)

– Alex Edler. The one thing about Edler, is his consistency. On some nights, he plays so well you openly wonder if Nashville would trade Shea Weber for him. On other days, you openly wonder if Nashville would let Edler borrow a Weber t-shirt while Edler sits in the press box. He is so up and down, and when he is down, and his offence isn’t working, he can be really frustrating to watch. From the penalty for closing his hand on the puck (or as Yahoo states, 2 minutes for being Alex Edler), to the two awful awful giveaways he had in this game, Edler did not have a game to remember. He’s getting paid the big bucks next year, he better ask Ballard how much fun it is to play with a big contract and not live up to expectations. “People say mean things, man. They hurt your feelings. “

– Alain Vigneault’s shootout choices. For some reason AV thought it would be cool and create more suspense if he chose Kassian to go 5th in the shootout. Rather than end it on three, he decided, “you know what, let’s leave the guy who was on fire tonight, the guy who I have seen bust out a killer move in the shootout before, let’s leave him until 5th, should it get there.” What’s the deal, man? Let the Kassassin go!

– I lied, Daniel’s shootout attempt made it here, too. It was bad AND ugly.

– The Sportsnet camera angles. I guess Sportsnet directors were watching Cops one day and thought “man, that should happen in hockey”, so they introduced the randomly awkward to watch camera angles for the game tonight. On one shootout attempt the camera decided to follow Tanguay from behind at ice level, from kind of off to the side. It was as awkward as a grade 8 dance where the girl you don’t like asks you to dance and you have to pretend you didn’t hear her. “What? The music, it’s so loud. OK, talk to you later!” Stick to the basics!

– Tanev’s shot. His first shot of the game is just now hitting the net, that’s how slow it is.

The Canucks take two from the Flames, and only give one back to them, so I say that’s a solid win for the Canucks. All I ask for next game is to skip from a 1-0 lead, and just go straight to a 4-0 lead. (There’s a three point line in hockey, right?)